A furious Theresa May rounded on her cabinet ministers on Thursday, upbraiding the four cabinet ministers who defied a three-line whip and abstained on a no-deal Brexit motion on Wednesday night.

In a cabinet meeting described as “difficult” and “tense” the day after a chaotic night in parliament, the prime minister angrily criticised the rebel ministers as well as the whole cabinet for its tendency to leak – only for business secretary Greg Clark to leap to the rebel group’s defence.